Monday, May 26, 2014

This Memorial Day…

Remembering those who gave their lives for their country with Peter, Paul and Mary - Where Have All the Flowers Gone… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgXNVA9ngx8


This Memorial Day, let us internalize the lessons that wars have taught us:
  • No matter what party wins, the families of the soldiers who die are the ones who loose. 
  • Everyone in the country experiences the negative financial impact of the war. Now with globalization, other countries too experience recession, sometimes for a long time!
  • No war really resolves issues for good, if it did North Korea and South Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries that fought wars would be prosperous and at peace. 
  • Even if you fight the war on the foreign land, negative psychological and social impacts creep in your country as well. If not, US would not have the shooting sprees in the military bases, thousands of soldiers on suicide watch and suffering from PTSD. Just think of the impact on their families including their little children. It is not worth it! 
  • The more we kill and fight wars, we create more enemies. When we help educate the ignorant, feed the hungry, we make more friends and establish alliances. 
  • Even if half of the money spent on destruction and deaths could be spend on education and development, thousands of poor and uneducated youth who join militia/terrorists groups in ignorance could be saved. And the rest of the money could be used to educate our own children who join gangs and violence in our neighborhoods. This is not rocket science! 
  • If we really want to lead, we can lead this world to social responsibility, development, prosperity and to peace! 
This Memorial Day, let the sacrifices of the brave teach us the silent lessons that are shed in the tears of their dear ones!

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Let's Dare to Love!

Language of love is the most popular language this world has ever known. To feel someone's love, we don't need to know their mother tongue. Love cannot be stopped by boundaries or any regulations.  Love touches hearts and lives like nothing else can. Let's feel it, embrace it! Let's fill the empty spaces of our beings with love because the fountain of love is within us. Let us unleash it and let it overflow! Let it reach others and fill them too. Let it flow, let it communicate and give birth to new friendships, new relations…

Let love speak through our eyes,
and through our facial expressions,
Let love reside in our thoughts,
and be communicated through our actions

Let love drive us 
to our conclusions,
Let love guide us
to our destinations

Let love be the foundation
of all relations
Let language of love
be the language of nations

Photo Courtesy Google

As we plan and execute
our actions and reactions
Let love be found
behind our intentions

Let love not hatred
be the reason for all our celebrations,
Let love be the gel
to resolve all our frictions

We sound different,
when love leads our conversations,
We seem different,
when love takes over our motivations

God is love
and we are his creations,
Let His love fill all our
Emotions and sensations

With so many differences
in races and religions,
Let's dare to love,
Regardless of societal complications!


Saturday, May 10, 2014

I Am Not Afraid Today

As a mother, I cannot remain fearful and teach that to my child. A mother's responsibilities call her to be greater than she is for her children and their children….

I am not afraid anymore 
of what the world will say,
Courageously, I am on my way,
I am not afraid today!

I am not worried about tomorrow,
and not concerned about false accusations,
With my head high,
I will think of affirmations!

I am not afraid of judgements,
I don't need to pay attention,
I will focus on what I need to do,
Ready to ride on a higher dimension.

I am no more afraid of 
someone snatching away my dignity,
Because I will not give them that right,
I will protect my honor with humility. 

I am not afraid of dark nights,
I will light the lamp of confidence,
I am not afraid of  lonely paths,
I will make friends with my conscience.

And I will not pass fear to my future generations,
I will teach them freedom,
Freedom to fly fearlessly,
With God's grace and wisdom! 

What about you? Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Me, the Classless!

Today, finally I experienced racism in America! I had heard the stories but I didn't believe it could happen to me in this age and time. It was a very educative yet pretty draining experience. My fault was that I was asked to move to an express line in Walmart at the request of the person at the counter while I had more than 20 items to buy.

Ok, for those who don't know 'Walmart', it is one of the US supermarkets such as Safeway and others where you can buy almost everything that you need for your household at a fairly reasonable price. The 'express line' is where only those customers can go who are buying 20 or less items. Anyways, my husband and I bought more twenty items and had the audacity to go at the express counter when lady at the register called because there was no other customer.

As we were in the middle of the checkout, a person came behind us and started to complain why we were in the express line if we had more than 20 items. I tried to explain how we ended up there and I added, "Ma'am by the time you arrived, there were less than 20 items anyways so it is ok". I thought I was trying to calm her down but that made her furious because she claimed that I was classless, from the ghetto ( a part of city where the minority groups live: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghetto) and what not…

Just by the color of my skin and my Indian clothing she had figured out that I had no class, didn't have any higher education and didn't make decent salary. This was my first ever encounter with an openly racist person so I told her that she sounded like a racist. That made her more upset and she asked Obama taught you that?

I tried to take her on but she told me that the conversation was finished so I smiled and said, "Madam, God bless you!" I was just amazed that in 2014, things like this still happen, that too, in a diverse place such as Northern Virginia and I was supposed to be branded as worthless, suck it up and move on?

I wish I had a way to sit down with this person and tell her that I may have been from the ghetto, I still deserved a bit more respect than to be humiliated publicly. Although, she probably was right that I am classless because I don't think I fit into anyone class but it was her disrespect for minority people that made me sad.

The worst part impact was on my husband who is a Puerto Rican American. All his memories of when he first moved to the US came alive when more than few people treated him with contempt because of his hispanic accent. He was more hurt than I was… I am sorry for him, for myself and for all those whose dignity is ripped off because of their race. However, I am very sorry for those who are disrespectful to people based on race, skin color because they are sick and sad from within.

I have forgiven this person and I pray that she realizes that she has a potential friend in me regardless of my class or color. I hope she has a restful night tonight and wakes up with a desire to be angel of peace for herself and for others around her. 

I am not OK

I am writing this on behalf of thousands of people, particularly the humanitarian workers around the world, who are not perfectly ok. Many o...